New Delhi: The Ishrat Jahan encounter case has brought Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into a state of conflict.

With CBI desperately trying to nail down a senior IB official, the Intelligence Bureau officers claimed that when they were allowed to interrogate David Coleman Headley in a Chicago jail, the Pakistani-American allegedly told them that Ishrat Jahan had terrorist links and was a ‘suicide bomber’.

Digvijay seeks clarification

Congress leader Digvijay Singh have also asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to clarify whether Ishrat Jahan, killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat, had any link with terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Singh, who met Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, told reporters that he has asked the Ministry to clarify whether 26/11 terror attack accused David Headley had said that Ishrat had terror links.

The CBI chargesheet claimed that the encounter was a ‘cold blood’ murder which was a joint operation of the Gujarat police and the IB.

Intelligence Bureau writes to Union Home Ministry

Meanwhile, taking strong exception to CBI's ‘witch-hunt’ against its officials in the Ishrat Jahan case, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has written to the Union Home Ministry saying the investigating agency's move would only hurt the morale of the officers of IB.

In a formal letter, IB Director Asif Ibrahim said CBI's move to prosecute its officials in the alleged fake encounter case in Gujarat would be ‘disastrous for the morale of IB officers and would harm the country's internal security.

Sources said Ibrahim wanted to put on record IB's displeasure over CBI's alleged attempt to frame IB officers in the alleged encounter that took place nine years ago. The IB Director also wanted government action on it.

IB has been maintaining that its officials only provided intelligence inputs and had nothing to do with any alleged fake encounter. Besides, it has also been maintaining that CBI does not have enough evidence to prosecute IB officers, including Kumar, in the alleged fake encounter case.

This information was reportedly in the interrogation report of Headley that was given to the IB. The document was also said to have been made available to some media. But later, the two paras that refer to Ishrat were missing from the NIA report.

NIA sources maintained that Headley's comments are not legally admissible in any case other than 26/11 and his account is based on second hand information so should be treated as 'hearsay'.

Later, Home Minister Shinde said he would verify reports which suggested that Headley had told NIA that Ishrat had links with LeT. Shinde said the Congress general secretary met him and requested him to look into the matter of Headley's statement to NIA on Ishrat.